1/32 Roden Werner Voss Pfalz D-III and a Wingnut Wings Pfalz D-IIIa 8284/17 flown by Jakob Pollinger

Started by Louis Gardner · 59 · 6 days ago
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    John Healy said 1 month, 1 week ago:

    Great idea to mass produce the engines! Idflieg would approve.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 1 month, 1 week ago:

    Sounds a superb idea, my friend @lgardner!

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    John vd Biggelaar said 1 month, 1 week ago:

    A good approach to produce them all at once, Louis @lgardner

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    Louis Gardner said 3 weeks, 3 days ago:

    John Healy (@j-healy)
    Spiros Pendedekas (@fiveten)
    John vd Biggelaar (@johnb)
    Thank you gentlemen for your kind comments. I do still have plans to build all of the Roden DB engines at once... but... over the last few days I got busy with working on the Wingnut Wings kit, and I never looked back.

    I will definitely do this mass production engine thing in a few days.

    I was on a roll and since this was my first ever WNW build, I was enjoying it immensely and just couldn't stop.

    To be perfectly honest, I am lucky I stopped long enough to grab some pictures.

    This update will be posted in several parts because I covered so much ground.

    So please buckle up and lets get started.

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    Louis Gardner said 3 weeks, 3 days ago:

    It all started with working on the engine for the WNW Pfalz D-IIIa model. I wanted to get it going and then switch over to the remainder of the Roden engines.

    That was the plan anyway. Things changed mid stream.



    Here you can see the engine and ammunition boxes shaping up. I read the WNW instructions and they stated the version I was building had a 200 HP D-III au version engine. So it takes special parts. Luckily they have been included in the parts trees.

    I was on a roll and building stuff. I like to build before painting. This gives me a much stronger glue joint.
    Before I knew it, I was looking at an almost completed forward fuselage / cockpit insert.

    Turns out I had built the landing gear too !


    The parts needed to build the wings and tail sections were also prepped for assembly...

    ...as were the fuselage halves. This kit has been an absolute JOY to work with.

    I was ready to spray on the closest approximation I have for the Pfalz interior color. John Healy mentioned it was a close match for RAF "Sky" according to his books. I just happened to have some left over from a previous group of Spitfires that I was building as part of our 100 Years of the RAF group that was hosted by Paul Barber.

    The color I chose was a more "Blue / Gray" for of Sky instead of a Green tinted one. I found several online pictures that showed some original Pfalz D-III artifacts so I went with what you see here. It's very hard to get an exact color reference because the lighting changes how it will look.

    Part 2 is coming right up !

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    Louis Gardner said 3 weeks, 3 days ago:

    Remember when I said lighting will affect how a color looks ?



    This is the same part and the same paint color. I have photographed it under different lights. This shows the almost completely built cockpit shortly after I sprayed it.

    This gives it a more realistic representation. It is actually a light Blue with a hint of Light Gray.

    I sprayed the interior of the fuselage halves as well.

    This shows the "Wicklerumpf" construction method that was used to build the fuselage of the Pfalz. The outer layer was given a layer of fabric and then doped to make it nice and smooth. These planes are beautiful.

    The pilot set was also assembled.

    I sprayed the mounting frame for it too.

    This is the plane I decided to build. It checks a lot of boxes for me. It has the Pfalz "Silvergrau" and lozenge fabric on the wings. The tail section and nose will be a darker Blue color, while the rudder will be White. It should be a very colorful machine.

    Part 3 coming right up !

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 3 weeks, 3 days ago:

    Excellent progress so far, my friend @lgardner!

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    Louis Gardner said 3 weeks, 3 days ago:

    Spiros Pendedekas (@fiveten)
    Thank you Spiros !

    I have another installment coming right up and I think you just might like it... 😉

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    Louis Gardner said 3 weeks, 3 days ago:

    Here is Part 3 of tonight's saga of the Pfalz.

    I wanted to wrap up the engine... and get it installed. Unfortunately I didn't get many pictures before I realized it was too late.
    You can see how I added individual spark plug wires using copper wire.


    I also cut off the molded on Valve springs, and made some replacement ones with silver colored wire. I even got so stupid with the details that I pushed down a few of the rocker arms to make it look as if the springs were compressed, and the valves were now open inside the engine... OK, I'll admit, I'm an engine gearhead / nerd.

    This shows the way the engine would have looked to the pilot. I still have to add many parts, and detail wires.


    These last two photos show how the assembly is looking at the moment. The decals for the instruments and various engine data plates still have to be added.

    Did I mention yet how much I was ENJOYING this one ?

    That's all for tonight. Please check back soon, for I should have another installment up soon.
    As always, comments are encouraged.

    Thanks for stopping by.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 3 weeks, 3 days ago:

    This engine looks really WONDERFUL, my friend @lgardner! You have obviously enjoyed it!

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    Louis Gardner said 3 weeks, 3 days ago:

    Spiros Pendedekas (@fiveten)
    Thank you my friend. I thought you might like the last installment... 😉

    Yes sir it has been a lot of fun. Now I wish I had picked up more of these models when they were still affordable.

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    John vd Biggelaar said 3 weeks, 3 days ago:

    This one is getting together really nice, Louis @lgardner
    It's obvious that you are enjoying this a lot.

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    IAN Convey said 3 weeks, 3 days ago:

    That's a great look Pfalz Louis, love your detail work on the engine. I guess there is no comparison between the WNW and Roden kits, but will be interesting to study both build logs when you have finished them.

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    Carl Smoot said 3 weeks, 2 days ago:

    Amazing progress Louis (@lgardner). I really like that engine. And as a real boat builder, I was appreciating the structure used to mount the engine in the frame. It's funny, I have always had a sort of mental block about WWI airplane models. I've built biplanes before and even a couple of WWI types (as a teen), but have not tackled one yet as an adult. I do have a Jenny kit (old Lindberg) that I want to build someday.

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    John Healy said 3 weeks, 2 days ago:

    Excellent progress, Louis. Love the spark plug wires.